Happy New Year! I apologize for the late update, but I'm here now! Better late than never, right? Also, I'm still in need for a few OC's. So please, do send some in. Anyway, how were your holidays? Did you do anything fun? I hope you did. Thank you guys so much for staying with me and this story.
Tsukino: Yeah, yeah. Yadda yadda yadda. Hurry it up already, you're slacking. They came here to read, not see your annoying and long ramblings.
Me: Fine! Robin, would you be so kind…?
Robin: AnimangaManiac20000 does not own One Piece, but she does own Tsukino, Luna, Akane, and any other OC that she has created.
Me: except the ones that readers give to me to put in the story, those are theirs. Now then, on to the story.
Recap:
"Luffy, Sanji!" I saw as we stop in the boat. Immediately, Luffy starts to check to see if I got hurt in any way, and Sanji begins his wiggle dance thing.
"Who's this gorgeous flower?" Sanji said, taking a hold of Lil's hand and kissing it, all while handing her a rose that he got from… where in the world did he get that?
"Ummm. I-I'm Lilly. B-but you can call me Lil, I g-guess." Lil stuttered, her face bright red. Oh Lil, what a shy doll. It's so adorable.
"Lil is my imoto-san. She needs to get back home though." I say, noticing her wings glowing, a tint of reddish gold, her mother was trying to contact her. She noticed too.
"Ah, it's true, I must go. Take care of Tsuki-ane please." She said to Luffy and Sanji before flying away.
"Of course, Lil-chaaaaaan!" Sanji says.
"Yeah, will do!" Luffy replies. Just then, Yosaku came flying on top of Mohmoo to tell us about Arlong Park. After they defeat Mohmoo, we see a picture of Arlong, and there was only one thing I had in mind when I saw him.
That's one horribly bad nose job.
Chapter 12: Cocoyashi Village and the downfall of a not-so-great pirate
Tsukino's POV
We have been sailing for two and a half days and it is dawn right now. Yosaku, Luffy, and Sanji are already making themselves comfortable. Luffy is asleep on the figurehead place where Merry's head would be, and Sanji and Yosaku are inside. I've been sitting here for who knows how long.
While I was sitting I thought of all the ways I could be useful to the crew, and that lead to starting the logbook. It took a while trying to figure out how to start it. All my attempts ended up weird or really, really bad. Here's an example.
Romance Dawn, join the Straw Hat crew on the adventure of our lives… No, that sounds like I'm selling something. Only 3778 beli for the price of 90 ~ or something like that. Hmm… The Strawhats! Join stretchy Luffy and crew on the adventure of a lifetime! No! No! No! Ugh! Might as well make all of us salesmen. 20 payments of 30,000 beli for the price of 1 payment of 20 beli. We'll take your money, and you'll get… actually that's classified. Okay Tsukino, deep breaths.
Finally, I came up with a beginning that I liked, I got it from the anime itself, I believe that it is a little familiar.
Wealth, Fame, Power. The Pirate King, Gol. D. Rogers, had all that and more. "You want my money? You can have it. I left all of it in one place, all you have to do is find it!" Those words rang loud and true on the execution platform, creating a new pirate era. For 50 years people have been searching for the One Piece on the grand line, and the reason they haven't been able to find it is clear, the next Pirate King is my captain, Monkey D. Luffy.
I'm Fujimoto D, Tsukino, the chronicler, seer, and singer of the Strawhat crew, and this is the written word of the life and adventure of the Straw Hat Pirates!
Peaceful, the day that this crew formed was peaceful. Luffy, Zoro (our first mate), and I met, ironically, at a Marine Base and Headquarters…
I thought that that was the best beginning, and once that had formed, the rest just flowed. I started with the story of Coby and Alvida and worked my way up from there. I was about to start the battle with Don Krieg/Goldilocks when Yosaku started yelling at Luffy and Sanji for not being serious enough.
"Yeah, we understand. Anyway, let's have some food. What are you hungry for?" Sanji asked as I walked up to them.
"Yeah! Food! I want meat with bones in it!" Luffy yelled.
"I want sauteed bean sprouts!" Yosaku shouted.
"And you, Tsukino-chwaaaaan?!" Sanji wiggle-danced around me. I stopped to think about it.
"I think I'd like anything that you make. Surprise me?" I say to him, imagining what his food tastes like.
"Hai! Tsukino-chwaaaaaan!" He wiggled inside to start cooking.
After eating we saw the island. I jumped off the boat into the water with the explanation, "I'm going to check the place out. See ya soon!" I was gone before they could protest at all. I swam in the crystal ocean, relishing in the power that it gave me. I thought it would be the best way to prepare for the upcoming battle.
When I found land, I figure it was Gosa. The earth there was barren, dry, and totally deserted. It was easy to see where Usopp was dragged off by Nojiko.
"Ahhhhh! Move lady, I heard that there are fishmen here! I'll kill them!" A young boy demands, he had a bandage on his cheek and some other cuts. It was easy to see that he was the boy that Nami hit with her bo.
"You're from Gosa, right? Arlong killed your daddy, right? How is your mother?" Nami has her ways of taking care of a situation, and I have my ways.
"Huh? How did you know?"
"She must be worried about you, go to her. Stay with the ones you love, no matter how much it hurts. Killing Arlong won't bring your father back, and getting hurt or dying won't please your mother. You need to think of others before you act. Less people will get hurt that way." By the time I finished, the boy was on his knees crying. I knelt down to his level and spoke, "Go to her, your mother. She needs you."
"Hai Nee-san!" He cried and ran off. Whew, that was close, children shouldn't grow up in such an environment.
Walking, I inspected Gosa and when I finished up, I went to the tree where everyone would meet up and scaled it. At the top, I decided to take a nap.
I woke up th the sound of a boat crashing into a wall. "Oh, it seems to be time. They're here."
"We've got to go before he's killed!" Zoro yelled.
"He's been killed!" Johnny said gravely, walking up. "Big Bro Usopp is dead!" He slammed his fist into the ground. "He was killed by Big Sis Nami!"
The news shocked everyone and I was going to say something, but I decided against it.
"Are you serious?!" Zoro exclaimed.
"Yeah, it's terrible! She was a witch all along! She's been winning Arlong's favor so she could have the treasure buried underneath Cocoyashi village all to herself! She'll camly kill people for it, too! She's scum, rotten to the core! She had us fooled the entire-" That's when Luffy attacked him and I held back every urge I had to throw a rock at him.
"You! Try saying that again! I'll kill you!" Luffy yelled angrily.
"Stop Luffy. This has nothing to do with Johnny." Zoro said calmly.
"If you don't wanna believe me, then don't. But I saw it with my own two eyes!" Johnny yelled.
"Quit spouting nonsense! Nami would never kill Usopp! We're friends!" Luffy shouted, still holding Johnny up by his collar.
"Who're friends, Luffy?" Nami says, walking up.
"Nami?" Luffy said, dropping Johnny. "Why are you here? What're you talking about? You're our nakama! We came to get you!" He picks up his hat that fell when he rushed Johnny.
"You're a big problem." Nami said, trying to emulate all of the rudeness in her life. It didn't really work.
"Nami?"
"Nakama? Don't make me laugh. You're just a pathetic bunch of people cooperating with each other" Nami stated.
"You! You killed him! I saw it with my own eyes!" Johnny yelled. "How dare… How dare you kill Big Bro Usopp!"
"So what? Why not kill me as revenge then?" Nami said smugly. Or what seemed smug, I knew that with every word she said she was hurting even worse. I'd been in that position before, I know the feeling. "I'll tell you right now. Arlong wants Zoro and his men dead. All because Zoro had to do something stupid. No matter how monstrously strong you guys are, you are no match for real monsters. If you hang around, you'll end up being killed. Not that it matters to me though." And that's where I decided to jump in.
"But it does matter to you, Nami." I say, jumping down from branch I was on. "It matters to you so much that you even came here to warn us. We all matter to you so much that you sacrificed your hand to save our sniper. Isn't that right, Nami?"
"Tsukino!"
"What?" The crew and Nami gasped.
"Where's Usopp?" Zoro asked Nami after fighting with Sanji.
"At the bottom of the ocean." Nami smirked. She's actually not doing a half bad job. I'd rate her acting at about a B+. She's almost at Akane's level.
"Cut the crap!" Zoro burst as he lunged at Nami, but Sanji and I stopped him from attacking.
"Actually, he'll be here any minute. Nami, you should really get that hand looked at. If you can't take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of your home, your village?" I said, trying to peel away the painful mask she has tried to glue to herself.
"What are you talking about?" Nami and Johnny said at the same time.
"Nami, if you wanted to hide an injury on your hand and have no one suspect you, you should have put on two gloves, instead of just one." I say. I think it's her way of adding loopholes. She wants help, but she can't ask for it. She's waiting for someone to put it together.
"You…" Nami started, but I cut her off.
"Your words and your thoughts are conflicting, remember," The next thing I said popped into my brain, a thought that I said to someone who was just like her, from the past. "The ones you push away are likely to be the most important in your life. Something as small as saying, 'Leave me alone' can be life changing." I turned around and tuned out of the most of the conversation after that.
After Nami left, Johnny blew up and stormed out, and then we waited a while. Usopp came back and explained what happened, and then Nojiko came to tell us to leave. "I'll pass." Luffy said, walking away.
"I'll come with you, Luffy!" I say, running up beside him. "Don't worry Nojiko, I already know about Nami's story. That's why I won't leave this place till she comes back with us." I say.
We walked for a while before Luffy broke the silence. "Tsukino."
"Hmm?" I wonder what's on his mind.
"Nami is a good person, she's the only navigator I'll have."
"Of course, Luffy. I'd never doubt it for a minute. Nami, she's carried her own burdens for years. She carried everyone's burdens. When I first met her, I saw myself in her eyes. Maybe that's why I try so hard to help her. Arlong… He's repulsive. Filth, downright appalling. Not all fishmen are horrible, but he's the worst. Luffy…" I say, "I want to help her so badly."
"We will! Nami is Nakama!" Luffy exclaimed.
After that we walked for a while till we saw Gen-san. That is when we split up and went to find Nojiko, I wanted to stop her from getting hurt, from getting shot.
I got there just in time. I pushed Nojiko, who was in front of Nami, who was in front of Gen-san, out of the way. I miscalculated though, the bullet grazed both of our arms right before we fell. I pretended I wasn't hit though. Tsukino, you can't be a burden. Nojiko needs attention, you're fine.
"Nojiko!" I yelled. Breathe in, breathe out, and remember, you weren't hit, you are acting, you are fine. The blood is becoming visible, you have to go.
I got away from where everyone was and found Nami on the ground and Luffy standing slightly behind her. Nami was crying, stabbing her arm and screaming over and over, "Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Arlong! Arlong…" Soon after Luffy stopped her.
"You don't know what's been going on for the past eight years." She yelled at him, frustrated.
"Yeah. I don't know." Luffy said.
"This has nothing to do with you. I told you, leave this island already!" She yelled again, it was obvious that she was at her breaking point. Oh, Nami… I'm sorry you've been hurting.
"Yeah. You told me."
"Leave! I don't need you!" She yelled, throwing dirt behind her, in Luffy's direction. "Leave! Leave! Leave! Leave! Leave! Leave! Leave!" Then she cried for a little while. "Luffy… Help me."
There it is. That's what we needed to hear. Luffy puts his hat on Nami's head and yells out, "Of course I will!"
"Oi! Everyone suddenly appeared looking B.A.! Well, you guys go on ahead, I'll clean Nami up first."
"Ah." Zoro replied. The others just nodded.
"Let's go!" Luffy said.
"Ah!" They all acknowledged.
Grabbing Nami's uninjured arm and helping her up, I took her inside the nearest house and snatched the first aid kit and went to work. "This'll hurt a bit." I said, taking out some gauze and alcohol and cleaning her stab wound. She winced, but otherwise she didn't express any pain.
"Tsukino," She said, her voice cracking.
"Yes, Nami, what is it?" I replied softly, the way I imagined a sister would answer, a gentle kind sister.
"Why? Why did you help me? I betrayed all of you. But you all came. You all came for me. Why?" She asked.
"Nami, you said yourself, 'I hope that they will all forgive me when this is all over.'" I smiled as she gaped at me.
"I… I said that, but I was alone, on Merry. You weren't there."
"But you told the ocean, and the ocean never forgets, it will always relay the message it is told, to those it is meant to be told to. The ocean told me what you said, and I want you to know, we only ever considered you for our navigator, Nami. Even if we didn't forgive you, though we do, Luffy would still want you, and only you, and the captain's word is law… Nami, you are family, and our family is always forgiven." I took a deep breath. "Well Nami, when I saw you, I saw myself. The look on your face when I mentioned your past, it reminded me of myself a while back. I didn't want you…" I took a shaky breath, "I didn't want you to turn out the way I did." I smiled and laughed a little, "You wanted to know, Nami. Well, now you know."
"Tsukino… I-"
"I'm finished with your arm, Nami. I'll go ahead, you can collect your thoughts first. Time to go give Arlong what he deserves." I say, cutting her off. As I ran off ahead, I turned around, smiled a smile worthy of Gol. D Rogers himself, and said, "Your happiness is what really matters! We won't let anyone else take it from you again!"
When I got to Arlong Park, Mohmoo was just barely defeated, that meant that Luffy had already gotten stuck in the cement. "Dang it… Too late." Luffy was covered in ink, and judging by the state of things, the giant piece of cement that Hachi picks up and throws is coming towards us right about… SHATTER now.
Sanji jumped in front of Luffy just in time. "This is just great. It seems I have ended up with a moron for a captain."
Zoro replied with, "We're in the same boat." Whoa, I didn't realize that Zoro was into Hawaiian patterned shirts. Well, I can't say it looks bad.
"But you know the saying, 'Idiots never die.' Maybe he was meant to be our captain. And besides, we're all idiots at least once in our lives." I take a deep breath and step forward. "Right boys?"
"Tsukino!" Everyone exclaims at the sight of me. Which is good, seeing as my name is Tsukino. It would be weird if the shouted out Rebecca or Sierra every time they saw me.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Nami'll be here in a bit. She is cleaning herself up. I glanced at Sanji, who was beside me and winked. "What were you saying to Hachi…? I didn't mean to interrupt."
He blinked and remembered, getting us back on track. "Well, at least it's a hundred times better than being with a lowlife bunch that hurts a lady."
A fishman that has a long ponytail stepped forward and said, "A lady? You came here all the way for 'that kind' of woman? You guys make me laugh."
"That kind of woman… Say that again about Nami-swan one more time and I'll cook you in a buttered frying pan." Sanji replied.
I zoned out of the conversation there and focused on the enemies in front of me. And suddenly, time snaps and the action actually begins. Usopp tries to pull Luffy out of the ground as Zoro begins fighting Hachi. Then Usopp accidentally lets go of Luffy, catapulting him into the big mouth fish. Usopp runs away, and big mouth follows.
Arlong picks up Luffy and throws him into the ocean after making some big speech about how devil fruit eaters are weak and the 'superiority' of the fishmen race. Sanji tries to jump in after him, but Zoro and I stop him. "Idiot! Don't get so worked up!"
"Stop! Sanji-san. If you jump in, you'll be right where the fishmen want you to be!" I yell and run up to them.
"The fishmen have the upper hand underwater. The only way to save him, is to finish this quickly and go after him when we're done" Zoro says.
"Sanji, Zoro. I'll check on Luffy. I'm not strong enough to break the rock, but I can keep him alive." I say, wrapping my hair around a finger and pinning it to the back of my head in a bun. It was quick and messy, so blue strands of hair fell around my face.
"Wha? I just said NOT to do that! Woman!" Zoro glared at me.
"Yeah, but you forget, Zoro." I say and he stops his ranting. "The fishmen aren't the only ones with an upper hand in sea water." I wink and pull my white blouse over shirt off, leaving a short-sleeved black undershirt.
"How many seconds do you think he'll last?" Arlong asks, now sitting on large blocks of rubble. He laughs a little and glares.
"Arlong." A feminine voice says. I looked up and spotted a fishwoman, squid-like and quite large. I assumed that she was like the girl in Buggy's crew, so I resolved to get to Luffy quickly. My opponent has appeared.
"What, Ika?" Arlong says sharply, looking her over.
"That girl." She pointed at me, "She's different. And she smells of ocean and sea water. It's weird, almost regal."
"I see. Keep an eye on her Ika. And if needs be… Kill her." Arlong commands.
"Whelp! That's my cue! Bye guys!" I say quickly as I dive into the watery depths. I swam fast and frantically, just to make sure I had the advantage of speed. I hope I can count on the guys to spare me a few seconds… there he is! Luffy!
Luffy was struggling to breathe, and his eyes widened when he say me. I swam up to him and checked the base, where his feet were stuck. Suddenly Luffy grabbed my arm and pulled me straight and quickly to the left. A crash was heard, and a small explosion followed. Ika was here. I straightened, and created a large air bubble around Luffy and I, just for a bit. Taking a large breath, Luffy said to me, "COOL!"
"This isn't the time to be admiring, Luffy. I only have a few seconds, then I have to fight Ika… If that's her name. I need you to hold your breath for a bit longer. Nojiko and Gen-san will be here soon, they'll help you get out, but only Sanji is able at this moment to break the cement. I'm going to draw the danger away from here. Can you stay down here for a little longer?" I ask.
"Yeah."
"Good! I'll see you soon!" I say. Luffy takes a deep breath, and a rock crashes into the bubble, popping it.
"I knew there was something different about you. So… What are you? A mermaid? Devil fruit user? There is something wrong with you, you're no ordinary human."
"Do I look like a mermaid to you? Pshh! You're an idiot! First of all… I have NO TAIL. Second, I'm in the sea. If you had any common sense, you'd see that there is no was that either of those theories could be true." I scoff. "You know, some people just don't use their brains. And not in the cute, adorable way either."
"What?!" Ika screams, offended. "I'll kill you!"
"You know, everyone seems to be saying that nowadays. But that's the rub. They never pull through with their words. It's kinda annoying if you think about it."
"Ika Ika water BULLET!"
"Umi no Shield!"
"Ika Ika water sword!"
"Umi no scythe!" I yell, taking the battle further and further away from Luffy, Nojiko and Gen. The two latter just arrived. 'I need to finish this quickly. Sanji will be here soon.'
Ika was getting very frustrated, and tried to throw a boulder at me, but missed. "Umi no-ack!" Pain flared through my lungs. I looked down and found the cause. A rock that rebounded from the boulder she threw. It punctured my abdomen and lungs, and it was getting really hard to breathe. I really need to end this… but what can I do?
I looked around and saw Sanji enter the water. What did he do… I got it! Think flood, breathe in, breathe out, flood. Flood. Floooood. Floooooood. Flood.
"What… is… this!" Ika coughed. After she stopped her attack, I increases the water pressure around her lamellae and her lamellae only. Once she was caught off guard, I flooded them with water. Then I waited. She swam straight up. I followed her, just to make sure my guess was correct.
On land, she pulled herself up, coughed up water, and passed out. Success! "Tsukino! What did you do?" Zoro said, hunched over. Let's see what he is thinking… I searched the surface of his thoughts, getting,
'When she came up by herself, I was really worried. Stupid woman. Almost gave me a heart attack.'
"I'm sorry if I worried you, Zoro. I just had to finish the fish girl off before anyone got hurt." I say, breathing heavily.
"What did you do? She just surfaced, coughed, and fell over." Zoro said. He was really curious, but he was trying hard to hide it.
"I created water pressure suddenly around her lamellae then once she noticed the change in pressure, I flooded them with water. I waited till she was slightly light headed, and I let her surface, then I blocked her airways using the water already inside her system, knocking her out. The change in pressure helped, but I had no intention of killing her." To Arlong I said, "She's still alive. You can check if you want." Then I winked at Zoro, smiled, and jumped back into the water to recuperate and heal. The calmness of the ocean was deceiving, and the comfort of the water had me in its embrace. It wasn't long before the familiar darkness of sleep overcame me.
A while later, I woke up to a crash, and realized that I was on land, not far from the water. I looked around, and held back a scream. This is the part right before Luffy comes back, when Arlong is fighting Zoro and Sanji. Zoro was out, and Sanji was being pounded. I couldn't bear another second of it. "Umi no Shield!" I scream, shielding both of them from another blow.
"Hmmm? Does the little girl want to try too?" Arlong says, turning his attention to me. "What can you do? A puny human. Female, too. What could you possible accomplish against the superior race, against Fishmen!?" He asks walking up to my kneeling form.
So what's the first thing I do? I chuckle. Then I laugh a bit, and that translates to chortling and gut-busting laughter.
"Wha?" He exclaims, taking a step back from the mad woman. (That's me, if you're wondering)
"Tell me, Arlong." I say, noticing Nami show up. I could feel a speech coming on. "Have you ever been to the Grandline? No? I thought not. It's sort of obvious." I say, not allowing him any time to answer. "You know, your superior race is nothing there. Fishmen and mermaids are sold at slave auctions every day. You talk about how great you are, but if you showed your face there, you would be captured, and sold to the nearest rich human fascinated enough to buy you. 'Keep your head low children, and cover up. If they find out you're part fish, we might never be able to see each other again.' That is what every mermaid and fishwoman mother says to their child. It's disgusting, and I hate it. But," I lift my head to show Arlong my eyes, which were burning, and I said, "That is the cold hard truth! They have no right to take away a fishman's freedom. What right do you have to take the freedom of innocent people away? Nami has done your will, has been your little puppet for 8 years. 8 freaking long years! You lie, you cheat and you pillage. You take everything from everyone and it's still not enough! There are fishmen who are honest, kind, and innocent. And you Arlong, you're nothing of the sort."
I stood up and took a breath. Though I only came up to the bottom of his chest, I stared him down and held his gaze without flinching. I said, "Do what you want with me, with everyone, but at the end of the day, it WILL be us who will walk away from this battle victorious. When you are alone in Impel Down, you will think of Nami, and of this cozy village, and when you do, I want you to remember, and know this. Nami will finally be happy. She was never your little navigator, and she never will be!" I jumped out of the way just as he brought his foot down on where I was.
"I've had enough of you!" He yells as he fills his belly with water to shoot a Jetstream at me. Tsukino, your main priority is Zoro and Sanji. Keep them alive.
I smirked as I put a shield around the two. "Umi no Shield!" I turned around and countered. Crescent. Whoa. Water crescents flew straight towards Arlong, scraping him up. In retaliation, Arlong hit me with the water attack of water.
"Tsukino!"
"Tsukino!" Both Zoro and Sanji yelled at the same time.
"What!?" I yelled back, agitated. Standing up straight, I call a scythe to my side. Then I spring forward to attack. The fighting felt like hours, and I was feeling worse for wear, but that didn't mean that Arlong was unscathed. He had his share of injuries, too.
"What…. Are you?" He asks me breathing heavily.
"Fujimoto D. Tsukino. The Ocean Priestess, directly under the ocean goddess, Lady Luna. Not pleased to make your acquaintance." I say back to him. Once I said that, something seemed to click inside him, like a lightbulb just went off. He dashed forward and seized the moment, grabbing me by the neck and bringing me to his eye level.
"A Priestess, is that right? I seem to recall a briefing from the World Government about a reward for bringing in a priest or priestess. Something about them being 'not natural' and needing to be eradicated from the world." He breathed out, and his rancid breath fell over me like a cloud of rot. "So, if I were to take you in… I could be rewarded greatly… I seemed to forget, I wonder if they set any rule about bringing them in alive…" He tightened his grip on my neck, and the lack of oxygen was getting to me. I tightened my grip on his wrist, but if this goes on any longer, I won't have any strength. I'm already weak from fighting… "Or Dead."
"ARLONG!" Nami yells, walking up.
"Nami-san"
"Nami-aneki!"
"Yo Nami." Arlong drops me and I take a deep breath. "I was just showing some loser pirates a demonstration of our power. What brings you here?"
"I'm here to kill you." Nami says gravely. That's where I cough. Coughing leads to hacking, and hacking leads to tearing up from lack of oxygen. Ah, precious air! Taking a deep breath, I realize that both Zoro and Sanji are staring at me.
"What?" I ask, finally recovered from the coughing fit.
"What did he mean when he said, Priestesses and Priests are to be brought in for a reward? That they need to be eradicated?" Zoro asks. Sanji looked just as curious.
"Do we really need to talk about this now!?" I whisper harshly and cough a bit more to prove my point.
"Fine! But we will talk about it!" Zoro whispers back, just as harshly. Sanji was whipping his head between us like he was watching a tennis match. Poor guy.
"Yeah, yeah. Gotcha. We'll talk about it, just not right at the moment." I whisper back. Once the conversation was dropped, I drew my attention to the conversation between Nami and Arlong.
"Hahahaha! How many times have you tried to kill me? You still haven't given up. Murder. Poison. Assault. Has it ever worked? You should know better than anyone, that we can't be killed by you humans so easily. Listen, you can never kill me. And you can never run away from me. Nami. You'll remain as my cartographer. Besides, you know I've been good to you." And that's where I laughed.
"Sorry… Keep talking. But…pffft! Chahahahahaha! That's the most blatant lie I've ever heard. But please, do continue." I say. You know Tsukino, you really need to stop saying things like that. And you HAVE to stop laughing at what other people say all the time. Luckily, he did continue, but he looked a little peeved.
"Because of what's happened, normally I'd kill all of these people, except you. But if you make a decision now to return to the Arlong Pirates, I'll spare the villagers of Cocoyashi. But... These guys won't be spared, they're too foolish." Arlong gestures to us and kicks Sanji. "It's your choice. If you choose me, the people of your village will be safe. Or you could choose to fight against me with these fools."
"I'm gonna stop you right there." I say, standing up, "Before you go ahead and say that you see this only ending in tragedy for those who fight against you, please remember. I am The Ocean Priestess and keeper of Delphi, and what I foresee happening here will always trump whatever you foresee happening here. So think, you are the one who has the choice. You could back out, leave Nami and her village alone, take whatever small win you have, and leave. You have many maps and treasures, you're a dog of the World Government, and you don't belong here. Or you will be the only one whose ending is tragic. Please remember that every single one of our crew member took out all of your crew members. Look around you…" I gesture to the bodies of dead or unconscious fishmen and fishwoman lying all around us. Arlong was literally the only fishman standing. "You are alone, we are not. And besides, our captain alone could beat you." I plop down on the ground and sit cross legged, "you know, food for thought."
"I'll take that chance." Arlong says, then turns to Nami. "So Nami, are you my nakama, or theirs?" He asks. Nami's breath stilled, and I could hear her thought going a mile a minute. So I chimed in.
"Nami!" I yell, "Tell me, do you trust Luffy?" She still looked conflicted, so I continued, "When has Luffy faltered? Hasn't he always come through in the end? Nami, you are allowed to choose your nakama, so I won't force you, but remember, Luffy treasures his nakama, and he would never, never let them suffer." Nami gripped Luffy's hat and started shaking, but then suddenly stopped.
"Everyone, I'm sorry. Will you die with me?" Nami says.
"OF COURSE!" Everyone yells back to her.
"Yokatta." I say, "Thank goodness Nami." Smiling, we make eye contact. "Thank you, Nami. For believing."
"So you wish to be slaughtered." Arlong says sourly while glowering. Whatever he was going to say next was cut off by Luffy spitting out water like a waterspout somewhere in the distance.
"Luffy!" I say, relieved.
"All he needs now is for me to take care of the block on his feet." Sanji says, smiling and sitting up.
Zoro stabs the ground and says, "Thirty seconds. I can't hold on any longer than that." And I smile and say to both of them,
"I can at least triple that time, two minutes altogether. So get going Sanji!" I say, stretching my back out, and pulling Zoro to his feet.
"That's more than enough!" Sanji yells as he jumps into the sea.
"We're on Zoro. Let's make an entertaining show." I smirk and say to him. He nodded and ran up first.
"I don't remember putting a fountain there…"
"That's not what you should be worried about right now!" Zoro say, in a fighting stance. "You half fish!"
"Didn't I say never to call me that?" Arlong growls. "Looks like you're about finished, Zoro!" He licks his lips.
"Umi no… water bomb!" The water blows him into a wall next to the building. I took care to keep it up, it is Luffy's to destroy.
"Those with a Devil fruit lose all their strength when they are in the sea. He should be dead by now. If he's still alive…" Arlong says, rising from the rubble where he impacted. "Then someone must have been messing around with my little game."
"Oh come on!" I say, "You're actually going to blame this on someone else. What a child. When you lose, you admit that you lost, and take the loss with your dignity. A child blames their loss on someone else with a 'you cheated!' and they cry and throw a tantrum." I said, you cheated, in a mocking voice. "You're the child in this scenario." I state.
Zoro chimed in, "Messing up your game? I thought it was messed up to begin with." I snorted as soon as the words left his mouth. If I was still fourteen, you would've heard the words, "Ohhhh Burrrrn!" But I'm older than tha- ah what the heck.
"You want some ice with that burn?" I say, chuckling slightly. I'm still a kid at heart, right? Zoro just gave me the look that said, 'really? How old are you'
"Really? Then I'll just have to check myself. Move." Arlong says.
"Tamago Boshi! Egg Star!" Usopp yells as an egg flies and hits Arlong's hand. "I've got you covered Zoro! Tsukino!" Everyone started talking about how brave Usopp was, and then noticed that he was as far from the battle as he could be.
"Usopp!" Nami yells.
"Hey Nami, check it out! One of their guys was finished off by ME! Me, of all people! He had a long face! Hahaha! These fishmen are nothing!" Usopp laughs.
"Chu! You little…" Arlong scowls.
"You betcha. My arrival marks the climax if this battle!" Usopp yells. Then Zoro attacks and Arlong gets all chatty about his nose, and I kinda zone out after that.
When I come back to the conversation, it is because of Luffy yelling, "I'm Back!" At the top of his lungs.
"Luffy!" I yell in relief, and then. "LUFFY!" I yell in horror when he switches places with Zoro. "Zoro!" Yup, he's gone. Man, Zoro really can't catch a break. After Luffy finished warming up, I realized how tired I was, and my legs could no longer keep up.
"Luffy." I say.
"Hmm? Tsukino?"
"I'm gonna go check on Zoro." I stay, forcing myself to stand back up. It took a few tries before I could actually stand on my feet. I took one step, and collapsed again. "Or, maybe not." Laying down on my back, I stared at the sky and said, "I guess I'll just stay here. Maybe take a nap." I smiled a bit, and then relaxed. Sure enough, everything became dark.
"Of course I don't know a thing about swords!" Luffy yells, waking me up. "I don't know how to navigate, either. I can't cook. I don't have great handwriting, I can't see the future or read minds, and I can't control water. In fact, I can't even lie!"
"Hey!" Usopp chimes in at that.
"I know that I need others to HELP me if I want to keep on living!" Luffy yells at the now tooth broken Arlong.
"You sure are useless… How pitiful. And such a pathetic guy is their captain? They must really resent you. Why should they risk their lives to save someone like you? Someone they can't be proud of, why should you be their captain? What can you do?" Arlong says, now sitting up. I didn't see any of the interactions, but I had them memorized. Even though I was only hearing the words and seeing the blue sky, I knew what would happen next.
"I can beat the crap outta you!" Luffy says confidently. Once everyone starts cheering, Arlong gets fed up.
"SHUT UP! You've got to be joking, weakling!" Arlong yelled, but I tuned him out. Something about teeth being a trait the Heaven's had given him.
"Look! I have them too!" Luffy yelled. I knew exactly what he was talking about, and it made me want to throw up. Ewwwwwwww! Gross! Nasty! Remind me never to kiss him! Wait…. Where did that last thought come from? But still, ewwwwwww! Oh? I zoned out again. Crap, Luffy's arm has been bitten! "He went back in the water!" Nami yells. "Luffy, hide!" Dang it, I can't move my body. It feels like lead. Go Luffy! I believe in you!
"No. I'm gonna break his nose! Gomu Gomu no…. Tate! (Shield)" Luffy yells and gets into his stance.
"Shark On Darts!" Arlong projects himself out of the water. "Shark On Darts!" He tries again after being blocked the first time.
"Gomu Gomu no… Ami!Net" Luffy yells, securing Arlong in a finger net. "Fishing? Let's fish! And now, Gomu Gomu no…. Yari! (Spear)" Everyone started cheering, but I know that this wasn't the end.
"What happened to Arlong's eyes?!"
"I've never seen them like that!" Nami exclaims. This is where it gets hectic. You've got this, Luffy. Before long, Arlong brought out his Shark sword thing, and started using all of his body weight to hurl it at Luffy. The battle got more and more intense until they both ended up inside the main building of Arlong Park. All we can do now is wait.
Crashes came and went, and many things fell out of the side of the building, Nami's desk, her charts, everything that kept her there. All of the things that Arlong wanted from her, falling one by one from the top of the building. Closing my eyes, I listened for the sign we had won. It came soon after, when the crashing of Luffy's foot came through the roof. I braced myself for the noise and rubble to rain down on my after the Park gets destroyed, and not a moment too soon. A block of cement fell right above my head and the impact shattered the rocks. Unfortunately for me, a shattered piece of rock hit my head, instantly making everything blurry. Afterwards a large piece of blurry brown wood came towards me, landing on my stomach. The air was knocked out of me, I had a hard time seeing, and I couldn't breathe. Shouts of my name were heard, and Nami ran to me and helped me sit up.
"Tsukino? Are you alright? Thank you. Thank you so much. You…." She started tearing up, and she gave me a bone-crushing hug.
"Ow! Nami, you're crushing me."
"Oh. Sorry." She let's go and smiles. We both stop talking when the rubble settles. Luffy, you're taking too long. The anticipation is killing all of us. The rubble of the remaining Arlong park shook a bit, and then Luffy yelled,
"NAMI! YOU'RE MY NAKAMA!" And Nami started crying, tears just rolled down her face, so I put my hand on her shoulder and said,
"He's right, Nami. You're our nakama. I don't think that we ever stopped believing." And that was about all I could get out before I blacked out. The last thing I remember hearing was Nami's worried voice yelling out,
"Tsukino!"
Hahahahaha! After losing and finding my notes for the thousandth time, it's done! I hope you guys like it! I made it extra long to make up for the time difference between this chapter and the last. But there you have it! Please review and favorite. (And follow if you really want to) Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day! AnimangaManiac20000 out!
